Keith's POV:

I wasn't always like this. I was different back then from what I've become now.

A monster.

I guess I should have seen it coming, but I let my guard down and now I'm on another side of this war, my own.

Let me tell you how it happened. It all started with a bang, literally.
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A few months earlier:

"Keith!!!", Shiro yelled as the gunshot rung through the air.

I winced and fell to my knees as the gun's blast hit me in the gut. I was wounded, that was for sure.

I'd gotten hit by a military type gun, a freakin machine gun. A machine gun that shot plasma or whatever it shot.

But these guys were going to have to do a lot more than shoot me to cut me down.

I stood up and faced the galran soldier who shot me and summoned my bayard into my hand as I blocked out Shiro's voice in my helmet.

"You're going to have to do a lot more then that.", I growled as my bayard transformed into a red sword.

I heard my red lion roar outside of the ship, sensing my pain.

I smiled.

Red always knew when to come get me. Unlike the rest of the team my bond with the lion was quite strong, strong enough to hear and feel my need to help.

I could be across the universe and Red would know exactly where I was. The connection I had was incredible and rare.

Not many shared this, I didn't think even Shiro's bond was this strong with his lion, Black.

The galran soldier looked around taken off guard for a moment, but then immediately trained his gun back on me.

Before I could blink he started shooting at me like a madman and I barely had time to roll out of the way.

Dodging his fire, I quickly summoned my shield and put the transparent blue shield between me and the bullets.

As the bullets pounded on my shield I braced my feet, trying not to lose my grip on the only thing saving me from fatal wounds. My brain quickly came up with a solution to defeat this guy and his gun.

I felt Red want to come and help me, but now wasn't the time.

"I'll call you when I'm ready Red.", I muttered under my breath knowing Red would hear me.

I then focused back on the situation at hand. There was only one way to end this and the galran soldier knew it to.

I screamed as I charged at him and pulled out my dagger.

The soldier was not expecting me to take this sudden and probably stupid attack. He immediately started shooting faster as I rammed into him with my shield.

I made the shield disappear and I sliced the gun as I lay on top of the galran soldier.

"Surrender.", I breathed out holding my blade against his throat.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Never!"
He then whipped out a smaller hand gun and would have shot my head if I hadn't moved a centimeter to the right.

I suddenly flew off him as a sentry threw me off him.

The soldier stood up and pointed his gun at my head as several sentries suddenly and roughly held me down.

I grunted as I tried to escape their grasp as the he came closer pointing the gun at me.

"Nice try paladin, but you're no match for the galra. It takes a galran to defeat a galran.", he said smugly.

"Keith, do you read me? Keith! What's going on over there?!? Keith!", Shiro yelled asked over my helmet's communicator.

"Take off his helmet.", the galran soldier commanded as Shiro's frantic calls emitted from it.

The sentry ripped the helmet off of me and the soldier put the gun on my head.

If I was being a honest with myself, I think he did me a favor as Shiro's calls were about to make me deaf.

"Any last words, human?", he asked.

I looked up at him, "Yeah, I'm galran,", I shot back at him, "and I also live by your motto too."

My eyes suddenly tightened as I was able to wrench free from the sentries and the galran soldier stumbled back as I exploded free.

I grabbed my dagger off the floor and sliced every sentry ruthlessly, fighting with unexplainable strategy and instinct.

I then summoned my bayard and threw it at the galran soldier's gun, pinning it against the wall as it sputtered with energy and quintessence.

He looked at me in shock and quickly pulled out a dagger from his belt, his last resort. "I refuse to die by a half-breed and a ridiculous excuse for a paladin of Voltron!", he screamed as he attacked me.

I blocked his strike to cleave my head and gritted my teeth. I could tell this wasn't his preferred weapon and he wasn't as strong in swordsmanship as me, but he was still tough as he swung the dagger in deliberate patterns.

It was just him and me and our blades clashed with the intent to win and have victory over our enemy. And I wasn't planning on losing.

"You know what?!", I yelled as I blocked a strike to the head again, "I refuse to get killed by you! You who have helped paint a bad name upon our race! You who has and still will destroy and conquer for no reason besides power! I will not stand for it and I'll do whatever it takes to stop you and the Empire!"

He swung his dagger at my gut and head several times in a quick, fast, easy motion.

"How dare you label yourself under the Galran race!", he yelled back at me as I tried to keep up, "You're a filthy half-breed! The offspring of fools and the creation of something weak! You're not galran, boy, you're a half-breed and half-breeds will never be part of our race!", he spat.

That's when I lost it, "I might be a half-breed, but I am not weak!", I screamed as I stabbed him straight in the gut with my dagger as it transformed into a full length sword.

I ripped the blade out of him and he immediately fell to his knees, collapsing to the ground dead.

Blood pooled around him and my feet as I watched him with unwavering eyes as I shrunk my sword back into a dagger.

"Victory or death.", I said as I went over and grabbed my helmet which lay next to the sentry pieces.

"Keith! Keith! Can you hear me?!?", Shiro's voice frantically asked over the com.

I shoved on the helmet and winced as Shiro's yells nearly burst my eardrums.
"Shiro, I'm fine. I'm fine!", I yelled over him. "I'm fine!"

I heard him sigh in relief as I started to run down the halls of the galran base, "Good. Now you need to get out of there Keith.", he instructed.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, since Red had roared, the whole base now knew I was here and was on high alert.

Should have thought of that. I shrugged it off, there was no taking it back, I would just have to make do.

This was going to be a challenge.

"Sorry no can do. I'm finishing what I started.", I said stubbornly as I pressed myself in a corner to avoid a patrol.

Shiro's voice got angry, "Keith, you're coming back now. You didn't have permission to go on this mission to begin with and I'm not losing you, not like this. Get out of there!"

"No.", I whispered harshly as I snuck down the halls trying to complete my quest.

Couldn't Shiro just give me a break?

Keith, you're going to get yourself hur...", Shiro said but I cut him off as I turned off the communicator.

I was finishing this and Shiro was distracting me. I needed to focus if I was going to succeed.

My breathing became heavier as I ran and slid my way past trouble and I felt exhausted, I needed to rest for a tick.

I was panting as I looked down and realized I was severely wounded as I quickly slid behind several crates.

During my adrenaline rush I had been able to shut off the pain, but now since it was over the wound burned and stung like crazy.

I could barely breathe as I saw the whole right side of my chest armor had been breached and burned.

Yikes.

Stupid machine gun.

I took several deep breaths and stuffed the pain down and resumed my snooping, ducking and running out of sight.

All I needed to do was grab the prototype and blow up the base. Simple and yet, not.

I could have just blown up the base and gotten it over with, but the prototype I was after could literally change the universe.

I was determined to reach it and bring it back to the Castle of Lions and nothing would stop me.

I finally made it to the quintessence lab where I saw heavy security and a Druid who worked on a raised glowing platform.

"Keep an eye out for the red paladin, the red lion was spotted flying around the base a few doboshes ago.", I heard a soldier tell the other soldiers as he ran into the room.

"Great. Just great.", I muttered as the sentries started to search the area while the guards kept their position making a sea of defense.

I had to grab the prototype now or I would never get it.

I took a deep breath in and crawled away from the sentry staying low and out of sight until I came to stairs that led to a catwalk.

A guard of course was guarding the stairs and I easily knocked him out quickly and quietly.

I propped him up against the stairs and climbed the stairs like lightning, trying to stay out of sight.

"Hey you! Stop!", a soldier yelled spotting me.

Crap.

So much for staying out of sight.

I ran hard and fast as twenty different guns fired at me from different angles.

I swerved and ducked as I summoned my shield trying my best to avoid being hit.

As I ran I saw the Druid take off, holding a canister of glowing black fluid.

The prototype.

I couldn't let him get away. I immediately ran after him even though most of the gunshots were coming from that direction.

Bullets ricocheted off the shield as I pursued forward, gritting my teeth in pain and determination.

My eyes widened as I saw the door starting to close behind the Druid as he made his escape.

It was now or never.

I threw myself toward the door, throwing the shield under me so I could ride it like a sled. Bullets rained down around me as the door slammed shut right as I passed under it.

I'd made it. I quickly got up as I saw the Druid standing in front of me shocked that I'd made it out alive.

I summoned my bayard which immediately transformed into a sword but my knees wobbled as soon as I took a step toward him.

It took all my willpower and strength not to fall to the floor as I pointed it at him.

"Hand it over.", I demanded, "And no one gets hurt."

The Druid snickered and lit his hand up with dark energy, "You're the only one who's going to get hurt, paladin."

He then threw the crackling ball of dark lightning at me and I barely avoided getting hit as I jumped out of the way.

As it hit the wall, steam hissed from the spot and lightning strands crackled off the blackened spot. I did not want to get hit with that.

I grimaced as I stood up slowly, every part of my body wanting to rest and stop bleeding from the guns.

Right as I got up again, the Druid hit me with his lightning full force.

I tried to get out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough as the Druid nailed me easily.

I screamed in agony as I first dropped to my knees and then to to my arms for support, kneeling like an animal as dark magic crackled off my skin.

I was already down on the first hit, I was losing and it wasn't pretty.

The Druid hit me again with more, every one more powerful then the next.

I screamed as blood poured out from all my previous wounds as my armor cracked and broke from the Druid's torturous magic.

Every part of my being was jolted with energy as sweat, blood and screams erupted from me as the Druid pounded me with magic unmercifully.

"STOP!!", my blood didn't just bleed, it flowed as lightning racked through my body. "Stop, stop, stop!!!", I screamed out against my will, the pain eating away any thought beside that one word.

I was a bleeding, panting mess as I could no longer support myself as my knees and arms gave out.

I suddenly felt myself being raised, I was floating in the air by the Druid's magic and he looked at me smugly.

I struggled weakly, trying to free myself from the Druid's hold as I floated in the air above him like a ghost.

"You forgot to say please.", he said wryly as he continued to electrify my body, enjoying every moment of my torture.

I writhed and screamed, my lungs burning and throat hurting from the inhuman screams that the Druid made me emit.

Suddenly my helmet's glass shattered as my helmet cracked from the impact of the dark energy.

Glass shards flew cutting my face just as I felt hot, sticky blood come from my mouth.

The Druid then closed his outstretched hand and squeezed the air, but instead of just a hand gesture he squeezed me as dark magic burst in my chest.

My head dropped awkwardly and my spine arched as my eyes started to roll in the back of my head from the intense pain.

I was starting to lose feeling in my arms and legs as blood trickled out of my mouth.

I looked like a half-dead corpse floating in the air as my body parts started to go limp.

The Druid smiled at the picture in front of him, "I always dreamed of giving you a slow and painful death, but this is better then I could have imagined.", he chuckled as he released his crushing hold, with me going instantly limp.

I moaned as he gave me a deliberate jolt to the heart.

"Stop.", I whispered out faintly as I tasted my own blood.

Blood was leaking from the corners of my mouth as he continued his magic.

"When I'm done with you Kogane, you'll beg me to kill you.", the Druid laughed as forced by body to arch backwards. "Because as you know, there are things that are worse then death."

Oooh, cliffhanger!😁 Vote and Comment my PALADUDES!